Blizzards,Bullets, and Babies
by smush68
Summary: Being a good samaritan in the middle of the biggest blizzard to hit Washington, D.C. gets Tony more than he bargained for! Rated M for later chapters to be safe pairing: Tony/OC - and a little boy!
1. Chapter 1

_**BLIZZARDS, BULLETS, AND BABIES**_

_**A/N-**_**I know, I know - I have NO business even THINKING of another story, let alone writing one, but once again, Mother Nature has presented me with divine inspiration. Nemo, the Blizzard of 2013. Supposedly it will rival our Blizzard of '78 by the time it's done ("Blizzard of '78" sounds so much more devastating than "Nemo, the Blizzard." But that's just me.). So, being snowbound with family for the weekend, I thought I'd save ALL of our sanities and immerse myself in a story about said Blizzard. So, I bring you the first chapter of my new story. Hope it gives anyone found by Nemo a little something to smile about in between rounds of shoveling.**

**CHAPTER 1**

Holding back the tears as the Jeep once again tried _not_ to go through another deep snow drift, Gretchen Riggs downshifted into first gear again, pressing down just a bit more on the gas pedal for more power. The mantra of '_stupid, stupid, stupid,_' played over and over in her head. It _was_ stupid to pick today, of all days, to make a run for it. But, being a hardy New Englander, she was well-experienced in snow driving. Ok, so she'd never driven in a full-on blizzard quite this bad, but the streets were deserted, and snow was snow, even if it _did_ reach the radiator grill at times. More importantly, _that bastard_ was from Florida, and had never driven in anything more than an inch or two of the white stuff. So she figured she was one-up on him. A quick check in the rearview mirror reassured her that Bo was still asleep, snuggled up in his favorite blanket in his car seat.

As she gripped the steering wheel harder, a shaft of pain zinged up her right arm. She hadn't had time to stop and check her injury, she just had to get her son and herself out of town ASAP. Unfortunately, the bastard had figured out what she was up to, and tried to prevent her from leaving. Gretchen couldn't believe he would even _have_ a gun within easy reach, with a child around, never mind actually _use _it. On _her_. Thank God Bo had already been buckled in the car. Luckily, the bastard couldn't hit a moving target, and only winged her in the arm. She didn't think much of it as she'd driven away as fast as she'd dared, but the adrenaline had worn off, and she was beginning to realize just how bad the wound was. She'd lost a lot of blood, and was starting to feel a little woozy. As she passed the sign announcing that the first exit for D.C. was ten miles away, Gretchen kept telling herself to hang on just a little longer, just a few more miles, then she could stop for a while and rest. Damn the bastard!

_The bastard_ had a name - Josh Davidson. Creep. Jerk. Idiot. Ex-fiancé. Father to her child. _Bastard_. Her mind was so busy thinking up more nasty names for the bastard, that she didn't see the deer bounding across the empty highway until she was almost on top of it. Gretchen jammed on the brakes, and even though she was only going about fifteen miles an hour, the Jeep began to spin. She tried to remember about turning into the skid, but she'd never known which part of the skid to turn to - the way the _front_ of the car was sliding, or the way the _rear_ of the car was going. It didn't much matter once she'd slammed into the guardrail and got spinning in the opposite direction across the highway. Thank God the governor had ordered everyone off the roads during the storm. She had just gotten control and pulled out of the twirl when the Jeep went off the road into the drainage ditch, plowing through several feet of snow, finally coming to a stop facing nose-down the hill.

Gretchen sat frozen for a moment, getting her breathing back under control. She had barely felt it when her head had hit first the door frame and then the steering wheel. Then, with a cry, she turned to the backseat. Bo was just waking up. He was alright, thank God!

"Dare, mommy?" he asked tiredly.

"No, honey, not there yet. We got a little stuck in the snow. You watch your Thomas DVD while I get us unstuck, ok?" Gretchen struggled out of her seatbelt, then fought with her door, which was what had hit the guardrail. The Jeep heading downhill made keeping the door open difficult, but she managed to slip out. Only to land in drifted snow almost up to her waist.

"Mommy pay inna 'no?"

Gretchen rolled her eyes as she tried to take a step. "No, baby, mommy's _not_ playing in the snow. I'm trying to Berty back on the road, instead of going down this hill, remember?" She grabbed onto the door handle to both help her move and keep her upright. She just about swam her way to the front of the car to check the damage. Other than a few dents and being plowed into snow up to the hood, there was nothing that should prevent her from backing out. She turned around and followed the path she'd already created and went to check on the tail end of the car. She knocked on the back passenger window and waved at Bo when he looked up at her. That baby-toothed smile warmed her heart as nothing else could.

As with the front of the car, other than some dents and being buried in snow up past the wheel hubs, there was nothing she shouldn't be able to rock herself out of. Gretchen took a moment to lean up against the car. She was so tired. Her head was throbbing, everything else hurt. But she had to do this. For Bo. She took a deep, steadying breath and pushed off the car. Opening the trunk, she pulled a plastic storage bin full of kitty litter toward her. She had six of them around the storage place for weight - her father had taught her well. Not only was it good for adding weight, the litter can be used for traction in the snow. She poured a big scoop under and behind each wheel, checking on Bo each time she passed the windows. He had his Thomas the Tank Engine playing, so he was content.

When she finally put the cover back on the litter bin, she was exhausted. Gretchen dragged herself back behind the wheel and dropped her head onto it for a minute, just trying to catch her breath. She didn't even realize she was crying.

"Mommy nap? Bo aw-done nap."

Gretchen did her best to put on a smiling face when she turned to her son. "No, mommy's not napping. She just needed a little time out to rest. And yes, Bo is done with his nap." She handed the almost two-and-a-half year old boy a plastic container of goldfish crackers. "How's Thomas? Need another one in yet?"

Bo just shook his head. Now that he had a snack to go with his video, nothing else mattered but Thomas and the goldfish.

"I'll take that as a 'no,'" Gretchen sighed with a smile. She turned frontward again and offered up a silent prayer as she turned off the motor and dropped the car into the lowest 4-wheel drive gear, then restarted it. Gripping the steering wheel tightly, she closed her eyes, and slid the Jeep into Reverse. The engine growled as Gretchen would back up a bit, then move forward a bit, rocking the vehicle and hopefully matting down some snow.

She'd been at it almost ten minutes and hadn't actually moved more than a foot. She stopped and put the car in Park. She contemplated getting the emergency shovel out and digging some of the snow away from the tires, but she just needed a rest first. Where she'd banged her head and where the bastard had shot her in the arm both throbbed. She just…..just for a minute…..so tired…..so cold. Gretchen undid her seatbelt and leaned forward to rest her head against the steering wheel. Just….for just…a minute…she'd rest for….just….for…a min…

_**BLIZZARD!BLIZZARD!BLIZZARD!BLIZZARD!BLIZZARD!BLIZZARD!BLIZZARD!BLIZZARD!BLIZZARD!BLIZZARD**_

For about the hundredth time, Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo cursed himself for wanting to get back to D.C. instead of waiting out the storm in Charlottesville, VA. Was it so wrong to want the comforts of home if he was going to be stuck inside for a few days? His own couch, his own choices of alcohol, his Magnum, P.I. DVD collection? He cursed having to drive ten miles per hour, when his was the only car on the highway. But he couldn't go faster even if he wanted to, due to the sheer volume of snow already on the ground.

Tony let out a sigh of relief as he passed the sign announcing ten miles to D.C. He could do this, he psyched himself up. He had to admit, it was kind of pretty, all that smooth, untouched snow in front of him. And it _was_ nice to not be sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic. A frown crossed his face as he saw disturbed snow up ahead. He slowed as he came to a spot where it looked like a car had spun out. Yep, there was a bent guardrail….no car, though. Must have already been removed. He was just about to continue on when he realized these tire tracks were fairly fresh…..and there were no other tracks, like from a tow truck. His eyes followed the tracks, playing out the scene in his mind. Skid… guardrail…. most drivers overcorrect in this situation, so he imagined that in, as well…..so….guardrail, overcorrect…..his eyes tracked across the four empty lanes and scanned the side of the road….and there it was, the disturbed snow…the tracks plowed down the banken to the ditch.

For one split second, Tony thought about continuing on - he was so close to home. But the protector in him took over, and he crept his car toward the side. Undoing his seatbelt, he zipped his coat and pulled on his thick gloves before opening the door - and putting his foot down into snow up to his knee. 'Great,' he thought to himself sarcastically. He walked carefully to the edge, where the snow was all plowed up. Scanning, his eye caught a flash of something bright blue….then the flash of hazard lights….Tony slowly made his way down the hill. He walked in the vehicle tracks, where the snow was a little shallower. As he got closer, he saw the car was a blue Jeep Liberty, and there were some areas around it that looked as if someone had been walking around the vehicle. He could see where the driver had tried to rock the car out, but hadn't gotten very far. He was impressed that the driver had thought to put some traction under the wheels.

The engine was idling, and the driver's window was open about two inches to avoid exhaust fumes from building up inside. Seeing someone - a woman, judging by the long hair - slumped over the steering wheel, Tony knocked on the window as he pulled his gold shield out of his pocket. He knocked a little harder when there was no response. A spark of fear went through him, and he struggled with the driver's door, calling to her the entire time. When it finally opened, Tony leaned in and felt the woman's neck for a pulse. There, but weak and thready. With one hand supporting her neck, he carefully eased the driver back in her seat. Right away, he saw the gash on her eyebrow, and a large, darkening bruise all around that eye.

"Hey…wake up now…not exactly a good place for a nap…" Tony took a moment to look around the vehicle's interior, seeing that the driver wasn't wearing any kind of coat to protect herself against the weather. Well, that accounted for the coldness of her skin. Aside from a few large, rolling suitcases, there wasn't much in the car except for a big pile of blankets and coats and such in the backseat. "C'mon, Sleeping Beauty…let's get you out of here, ok?"

Tony backed out of the car and began to reach around the young lady to pick her up. He froze….was that movement in the backseat? When it didn't happen again, he reached once more for the driver. Ok. _That_ was definitely something moving in the backseat…some blankets shifted….Tony pulled his gun and leaned toward the back. At the same time, the pile of coats and blankets began to separate and tumble away. A sigh told him there was a person under there. He raised his gun. "NCIS, come out slowly with your hands up." The last few blankets fell away, and out popped…._a baby_?

Tony quickly put his gun away, heart ready to pound out of his chest.

"Shhhhhhh!" the child interrupted. "Mommy nap!"

Mommy, huh? "Uh…yeah, mommy's taking a nap, but…we need to get her - and you - someplace warmer, ok?"

The little boy nodded. "O-tay. Bo nap aw-done?"

The kid was asking _him_? "Uh….sure, Bo's nap is all done." Then he thought of something. "Hey, big guy, I'm going to come open your door for a minute, ok?"

"O-tay."

Tony opened the back passenger door and leaned in, touching the boy's hand. Pink and warm. Apparently, mom had made sure the boy would be safe from the cold - at the sacrifice of herself, the agent thought, spotting what had to be her coat - before she passed out. He didn't see any obvious trauma to the boy, but he started moving aside blankets to do a more thorough check.

"Mommy boo-boo?" the boy asked quietly, pointing to his own forehead.

Tony paused. How in-depth could he get with a child this age? "Your mommy bumped her head pretty good, yeah. How about you, champ? Do you have any injur…._boo-boos_…anywhere?" His heart sank when the little boy nodded. "Can you point to where the boo-boo is?"

The little boy nodded enthusiastically and pointed to his knee. Tony moved aside multiple blankets and carefully rolled up the little pantleg, exposing a chubby baby leg. The boy helped pull the jean leg up to his knee, exposing an obviously days-old black and blue - it was already turning yellow and fading. "Fehw offa swing inna' pawk," the boy crowed happily.

Tony willed his heart to slow down, relieved there didn't seem to be any problems from today's accident.

"You tiss it?" the little boy pouted, like it had just happened. Tony raised an eyebrow, unsure what to do. Was this appropriate? "Uh…ok. But can you tell me if you have any boo-boos from today first?" Bo shook his head 'no' quite vehemently. "Mommy tooked care a' Bo."

Tony smiled. "Good to hear, big guy." He leaned over and brushed his lips over the yellowing bruise on the child's knee, smiling again at the gurgly laugh from the boy.

"Awwww beddah!" Bo giggled. He watched as Tony began moving aside the mound of blankets to get at the car seat. "Wha' you name?"

Intent on figuring out how this car seat thing worked, Tony distractedly answered, "Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo…."

Bo frowned. He'd never heard a name that long or strange before. "Spittle..Ay-jun…."

Tony looked up, smiling at the determination on the young boy's face. "Just call me Tony. How's that?"

"Doe-nee." The little boy smiled.

"Close enough," Tony chuckled, trying to find where the buckle that held the seat in place was. He felt a small finger poking his arm, and looked up at Bo. Bo pointed to the left side of the car seat. "Thanks, big guy! You're a smarty!"

Bo was confused. "I's nots smarty, I's Bo!"

Tony shook his head. It was going to be a lo-o-ong trip back to D.C. with this little guy in the car, that's for sure. He unbuckled the seat and carefully lifted it out of the car, doing his best not to drop it. The kid was a lot heavier than he looked! "Ok, kiddo, we're going to go up to my car and get you nice and warm, ok? Once you're all strapped in, I'll come back for your mom. Sound good?" The boy just nodded, and Tony began the trek back up the banken. It was a lot more difficult going up with thirty lbs. of extra weight in his arms, blocking his view of where he was stepping.

_**BLIZZARD!~!BLIZZARD!~!BLIZZARD!~!BLIZZARD!~!BLIZZARD!~!BLIZZARD!~!BLIZZARD!~!BLIZZARD!~!BLIZZARD!~!BLIZZARD!~!BLIZZARD**_

With a groan, Gretchen put a hand to her head, wincing at the bump growing there, not to mention the blood on her hand when she took it away form her head. It took her a moment to realize that her door was wide open. She could have sworn she'd shut it when she'd finished wrapping Bo up. It was so cold in here now, even with the heater on high. She turned to the back seat, and her heart just about stopped. _Bo!_ He wasn't there….where….his door was standing open….it took her a moment to realize that his car-a-way was missing, too. No. No, no, no! It wasn't possible! The Bastard couldn't have found them! "Bo!" she called weakly. Looking frantically around, she saw the back of a stranger - a man - carrying her son in his car seat up the banken. "No!"

Gretchen stepped out of the car, only to fall to her knees with exhaustion. "No! You….can't….Bo!" She struggled to her feet and began a drunken-like chase of the stranger. "Bo! Let him…go!" Gretchen was breathing hard, trying to catch up and rescue her son. She refused to let the bastard win! "No!…Please!" she begged, tears freezing on her cheeks. "Please! Give him…give him to me! You can't….can't take my baby!" She lunged and managed to grab a corner of the stranger's coat. "No!"

Tony gasped as he almost fell over backward. "What the…!"

"…can't take my baby! No!"

"Whoa! Hey, hey, hey, lady! I go down, your kid goes down. Take it easy!" He half-turned and saw the feral - yet slightly unfocused - glare in her eyes. Uh-oh. Momma Bear protecting her cub. "I'm not going to hurt him. I'm just taking him to my car to get him warmed up…"

"No! You can't have him! Give him to me!" Gretchen sank to her knees, so tired, so cold. So much pain. She knew she didn't have the strength to fight this man for her son…she was going to lose him! "Please!" she whimpered. "Please, just…just give him…to me….. Please…?" She reached out her arms, pleading. "Bo! Please? My…_my_ son….."

Seeing his mommy on the ground and crying, Bo started to get upset and squirm. "Doe-nee! Dat's mommy! Gotsa' hewp mommy! _Mommy!" _he screamed, tears starting to run down his cheeks, too. "Want mommy! Doe-nee! Want mommy!"

Tony was beginning to wish he'd just kept on driving. He didn't need all this drama today. "One sec, big guy, and we'll go get mommy, ok?"

Bo sniffled. "P'omise?"

"Yep…soon as we….get over the top, here…..see, Bo? There's my car." He flinched when he heard a soul-gripping scream from down the hill. He walked to his car and opened the back door, fitting the car seat in and getting it buckled. He dodged the boy's kicking feet. "Hey, hey…I promised you'd see your mom…will you let me carry you?" A silent nod was the only response he got. The chubby arms went up when Tony opened the straps and carried Bo out, situating the child on his left hip. "Ok kiddo. Let's go help your mom, ok?" He smiled as the boy nodded, then grimaced as he wiped his snotty nose on his coat. "Great…." he sighed.

Making his way carefully down the hill again, Tony saw the woman huddled in a ball, shivering and crying like her world had ended.

"No," she sobbed, "Bo! So s-sorry, Bo! Tried…tried to protect you….sorry! My baby! My baby!"

She must have seen him coming closer, because she sat up on her knees and held out her arms.

"Please! Please, I'll do _anything_! Just give me my son! Please! He's _mine_!"

Tony got as close as he dared, turning so the woman could see her son. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you _or_ your son. I'm here to help, ok? See? Your boy is fine, just a little worried about his mom…." he crooned softly. The woman's sobs quieted some. "My name is…"

"Doe-nee!" Bo chimed in happily.

Laughing, Tony shrugged. "Right. Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, NCIS. But you can call me Tony." When the woman looked at him skeptically, he shrugged again. "I'd show you my badge and identification, but they're in my left pocket, and…well…" he nodded to the little boy on his left arm. "I'm here to help, ok?" When the woman nodded slightly, Tony took a few small steps closer. "I'm going to help you up, ok? Are you hurt anywhere besides your head?"

Gretchen shook her head tiredly. She had no energy left, and no choice but to let this man help her - if that's why he's really there. The man - Tony, she vaguely remembered - held out his right hand to her. She looked at it, trying to gather the strength to raise her own up. She held it up as high as she could, and Tony slipped his hand under her elbow. He asked if she was ready, and she thought she nodded. At the tearing pain in her right arm as he gently pulled her up, Gretchen screamed.

Tony jumped, almost dropping both baby and mother, when the woman screamed. Looking down, he saw the blood all down the sleeve and side of her sweater. "What the…thought you said you weren't hurt?" Seeing the woman was close to passing out from either pain or exhaustion - or both - Tony wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his right side. She was like ice and shaking. "C'mon, let's get you to the car." The trio stumbled their way up the banken to Tony's car.

"Doe-nee fix mommy boo-boo?" Bo asked quietly.

"Gonna' try, big guy. Need to put you in your seat though, ok?" He first helped the woman into the front passenger seat, then went to the back and put the baby into his car seat, covering him with a few of the blankets he'd thought to bring. "There. Now, let's see about your mom." He went back to the front passenger side and squatted down next to the young mother. "I'm going to check your arm, ok?" He saw a faint nod, so he carefully lifted the arm in question, stopping when she cried out. Looking closely, Tony realized that this didn't happen in the accident - this is a bullet wound. Trying to ignore the pained cries, he examined the wound carefully. Just a graze, thank God, no bullet left in her arm. But she'd lost a lot of blood, which, in these conditions, worried him more than usual. Checking her head, he thought that the gash above her eye wouldn't need stitches, maybe just a butterfly bandage. But he couldn't tell if her eyes were unfocused due to concussion, blood loss, or hypothermia. He shook her to wake her up a bit. "Hey sweetheart, I need your name. Not that I have a problem calling you sweetheart or anything, but I think you'd be more comfortable if I used your real name."

She tried to stay awake and listen, but it was getting so hard to do. "Gr-Gretch-chen. Gretchen."

Tony smiled. "Gretchen? Ok then, Gretchen. Here's the scoop. You're in pretty serious shape, ok?"

Her eyes shot open. "Bo?" she asked, panicked.

"He's fine, he's ok, not a scratch. You took good care of your boy, Gretchen." He gently wiped a tear from her cheek. "Now it's time to take care of you, ok?" He waited 'til she nodded, then stood. "Ok. The closest hospital is Bethesda, that's about six…"

"_No_!" Gretchen yelled, grabbing Tony's coat again. "No! No hospital! Can't….no hospital!"

Now Tony was suspicious. What kind of woman - what kind of _mother_ - wouldn't want to be taken care of in a hospital? "You need to be in a hospital, sweetheart. You've lost a lot of blood, you're hypothermic, not to mention you probably have a concussion…"

Tears streamed from Gretchen's eyes. They just _couldn't_ go to the hospital. "No..please! No hospital….he'll…he'll find us…hurt Bo….please? He can't take Bo…he'll find us…in hospital…kill me, take Bo…not my baby, please! Please," she begged almost deliriously.

Wanting to stop Gretchen from becoming hysterical, Tony agreed. "Ok, alright…ok, no hospital, I promise." When that finally got through to her, she thanked him over and over. "_Who_'ll find you, Gretchen? Who'll find you at the hospital? …. I won't let anyone take Bo from you, ok? …. No one will hurt either one of you …. Gretchen…..sweetheart, you need to calm down….calm….you're scaring that brave little man of yours there, in the back seat….deep breaths….that's the way….another one …. There you go….. Are you _sure_ you don't want to go to the hospital?"

Eyes barely open, Gretchen turned tiredly to Tony. "No…hos…hospital…please?"

Tony reached in and buckled her seatbelt, then shut her door and walked around to get in the driver's side. Once he was in and buckled up, he looked at his passengers for a minute, then sighed. It was totally against protocol, not to mention his common sense, but he'd do as she wanted - no hospital. He'd get her someplace out of the storm, let her warm up a bit, and hope she'd change her mind.

So much for riding out the blizzard _his _way, he sighed, putting the car in gear and beginning the slow trek back to D.C.

_**BLIZZARD*****BLIZZARD*****BLIZZARD*****BLIZZARD*****BLIZZARD*****BLIZZARD*****BLIZZARD*****BLIZZARD*****BLIZZARD**_

_**A/N-**_**I had started this story a week or so ago, when New England found Nemo, the blizzard. Which turned out to be one of the top 3 snowfalls in my city's history, since 1888, at 30 inches. It even topped The Blizzard of '78 total snowfall, which totally shocked us all!**

**At this very moment, Boston MA and Cape Cod are getting a significant storm, while my city just got about 3 inches.**

**I hate snow!**

**BUT, I LOVE, love, LOVE **_**REVIEWS! So PLEASE - warm my little heart and give me a review! Please? Melt the snow with a review, and make me smile! There's hot chocolate and cookies for you when you're done…..**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**BLIZZARDS, BULLETS, AND BABIES**_

**CHAPTER 2**

Tony had barely gotten the car back on the road when a glance at his passenger made him remember something. "Ah, shi…" a quick look in back at the little boy had Tony censoring himself. "…iver me timber…." The giggle from the back seat made him roll his eyes. He stopped the car and back up to where he'd been and put the car in park. "Gretchen?" The woman didn't answer. "Gretchen? Hey…" He gave her shoulder a little nudge, but she remained out. Tony pounded the steering wheel in frustration. "Awwww, c'mon, lady…work with me, here…."

A little voice from the back seat called out, "_Mommy!_"

Gretchen jolted awake. "Huh? Bo? What's…" she looked around, confused.

Bo laughed, and Tony smiled at him in the rear view mirror. "Thanks, little man!" He turned to his grown up passenger. "Any of those cases down there," he pointed to her buried car, "that you absolutely need in the next few days? For you or your son?"

Putting her hand to her aching head, Gretchen tried to think.

"Biderman, mommy! Need Biderman!"

She smiled. "Oh definitely, honey." She looked at Tony. "The Spiderman backpack," she explained.

"An' Thomas!"

Gretchen almost laughed at the concerned look on their rescuer's face. "His videos," she said, "Thomas the Tank Engine."

"Ok, Thomas and Spiderman for the little dude in the back. How 'bout for little dude's mom?"

"Ummmm…." She tried to think what was in each case, but thinking was difficult. "If you just grab one big one, that should work. They all have stuff for the both of us." Tony started to get out of the car when she called out again. When he popped his head back in, she said, " there's a big, brown leather messenger bag somewhere in the front seat. It's got all our important papers in it."

A little whisper came from the back seat. "Mommy!" Gretchen leaned back and listened to what Bo had to tell her. "Um, and if you happen to find a stuffed brown dog, could you stick it in one of the bags? The poor thing gets nervous without Bo, you know," she confided with a wink.

Tony nodded patiently. "Anything else?"

Mother and son looked at each other. "Nope, we're good. Thank you!" Gretchen remembered to add as the driver's door slammed shut.

Tony grumbled to himself as he walk-slid back down the hill. "Spiderman….stuffed dog…..you're a sap, DiNozzo. Next is driving a minivan with those 'my kid is an honor student' stickers on them."

When he got to the Jeep, the first thing he did was remove the keys and drop them in his pocket. From the driver's door, he could see the strap of the messenger bag the woman - Gretchen, he reminded himself - asked for, so he stretched across and grabbed it from under the front seat. As he pulled, the flap opened and a manila envelope fell out. He groaned and leaned in to pick it up. As he slipped it back into the bag, he noticed it was hand-addressed to a lawyer up in Boston. Thick and lumpy, too.

Spotting the Spiderman backpack in the back seat, Tony slipped the strap of the messenger bag over his head, lawyer letter forgotten as he set about collecting the rest of the things Gretchen and her son requested.

In less than fifteen minutes, they were back on the road, still traveling at ten miles an hour or less. Tony looked over and saw Gretchen was still groggy, in and out of consciousness. He was really worried about that. As someone who has had his share of both concussions and severe blood loss, he had a good idea how she was feeling. And as someone with an aversion to hospitals, he could understand her not wanting to go to one. When she woke up, he'd try again to convince her to get checked out.

With a sigh, Tony looked in the rear view mirror at the boy, snug as a bug in his car seat, having an animated conversation with Batman - his stuffed dog. His ears perked up when he heard his name. From the few words he could understand out of the boy's mouth, the child was regaling the dog with the afternoon's adventures.

He smiled, until something occurred to him. If they weren't going to the hospital…..what was he going to do with them? His first thought was Ducky's - perfect for medical attention. But the doctor's new home was in Georgetown, a few extra exits after D.C. McBoyScout? He's prepared for everything….nah, McAuthor's apartment was even smaller than his own. Ziva? Visions of Gretchen being interrogated popped into his head. So, no Ziva. Abby? She'd be a big help with the kid, she loved kids. She could also help with the doctoring…..the coffin in the living room would probably freak out both kid _and_ mom….sorry, Abbs….that left…_damn_! The last person he'd want to be snowed in with. But also the one that would be the most help.

Gibbs.

_**BLIZZARDNCISBLIZZARDNCISBLIZ ZARDNCISBLIZZARDNCISBLIZZARD NCISBLIZZARD**_

Releasing a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, Tony pulled into Gibbs' driveway. Gretchen was still out, and her son had drifted off about half an hour ago. He took out his phone and hit speed dial 1.

"_Gibbs."_

"Hey boss," Tony answered brightly. "Enjoying the storm?"

"_I'm not comin' to help dig you out from somewhere. Told ya' to stay in Charlottesville."_

"Not even from your own driveway, boss? That's cold…."

"_DiNozzo!"_

"No, really, boss. It's cold! It is a blizzard, ya' know." He saw Gibbs peek out the front window.

"_What're you doin' in my driveway, DiNozzo?"_

"Thought you might want some company for the storm, ya' know, in case we're home for several days….wouldn't want you to get lonely or bored here by yourself."

"_No offense, but you're not exactly who I'd choose to be snowed in with,"_ Gibbs smirked.

Tony smirked back. "Awww boss, you wound me!" He heard the other man sigh. "But since I'm already here, maybe you could make an exception?"

"_C'mon, door's open,"_ Gibbs sighed again, resigned to being stuck with Tony for at least the night.

Tony looked at his passengers. "Um, could you…kind of…come out and give me a hand with something? Or rather, a couple of somethings?" A curse and a dial tone were the only response. A minute later, Gibbs trudged out to the Charger, zipping his coat. Tony got out of the car to greet him.

"This better be good, DiNozzo."

Tony walked around and opened the passenger door. "I'll carry her if you'll carry the one in the backseat."

Gibbs was shocked. A woman? "What the hell…?" He stared at Tony.

"Her son is in back. Don't forget the dog and the backpack." Reaching in, Tony slid his hands under the young woman and lifted her out, struggling to walk through the snowdrifts with his load.

Opening the back door, Gibbs saw the sleeping boy. Where the hell did Tony find these two? With a sigh, he leaned in and scooped the boy out of his car seat, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around the boy. Seeing the aforementioned stuffed dog and backpack, Gibbs dragged those out too, and followed Tony into the house.

_**NCISBLIZZARDNCISBLIZZARDNCIS BLIZZARDNCIS**_

_**A/N - **_**It's rather short, I know, but I've got a smidge of writer's block, so I figured something is better than nothing! A REVIEW would go a long way toward breaking said writer's block, so PLEASE leave one! Much appreciated!**


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